Japan
Japan is a country in Asia. Angeline Wong had went to Japan in the years of 2003, 2008, 2013, 2014 and subsequently into year 2019. In 2013, Angeline Wong had went with Tan Wan Yin and Chew Shin Ru to Osaka area, but in 2014, Angeline Wong had went to Tokyo area and continued eventually with the year 2019. Jeremy Mok had went to Japan on October 2008 and October 2016 (which is the Tokyo area), and following on the 16 - 24 October 2019, where we will be staying at various hotels, together with these popular attractions, including the direct bus from Tokyo-Haneda Airport to Hakone. Japan is home to various items such as the Gundam and the Pokemon Center. Popular attractions include Mount Fuji, Nagoya Castle, Tokyo DisneySea and Tokyo Disneyland. The Japan Tourism Board has been created to serve a lot of tourists, but it also has the JTB Tour. The Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937 has came into the existence which has merged with other conflicts like Battle of Malaya and Battle of Singapore under either the Japanese occupation or the Hitler occupation which came to the end in 1945 following the Japanese surrender after the Hiroshima and Nagasaki atomic bomb. There are several events such as the 1964 Summer Olympics, the 2020 Summer Olympics and the Expo 2005 at Aichi. The Winter Olympics is also hosted in 1972 and 1998. It was home to the famous of filming films such as The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift and Shinjuku Incident. History 2011 earthquake The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohuku, was a magnitude 9.0 - 9.1 Mw undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 13:36 on 11 March 2011, with the epicentre approximately 70 kilometres (43 mi) east of the Oshika Peninsula of Tōhoku and the hypocenter at an underwater depth of approximately 29 km (18 mi). The earthquake triggered powerful tsunami waves that reached heights of up to 40.5 metres (133 ft) in Miyako in Tōhoku's Iwate Prefecture, and which, in the Sendai area, traveled up to 10 km (6 mi) inland. The earthquake moved Honshu 2.4m east, shifted the Earth on its axis by estimates of between 10 cm and 25 cm, increased earth rotational speed by 1.8µs per day and generated infrasound waves detected in perturbations of the low-orbiting satellite. Initially, the earthquake caused sinking of part of Honshu's Pacific coast by up to roughly a metre, but after about three years, the coast rose back and kept on rising to exceed the original height of the coast. The latest report confirmed 15,894 deaths, 6,156 injured and 2,546 missing. 228,863 people were still living away from their home in either temporary housing or due to permanent relocation. 127,290 buildings were temporarily collapsed, with a further 272,788 buildings "half collapsed", and another 747,989 buildings partially damaged. The tsunami caused nuclear accidents, primarily the level 7 meltdowns at three reactors in the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant complex, and the associated evacuation zones affecting hundreds of thousands of residents. Many electrical generators were taken down, and at least three nuclear reactors suffered explosions due to hydrogen gas that had built up within their outer containment buildings after cooling system failure resulting from the loss of electrical power. Residents within a 20 km (12 mi) radius of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant and a 10 km (6.2 mi) radius of the Fukushima Daini Nuclear Power Plant were evacuated. When the Suzuki family was affected by the Tohuku earthquake, they had went to Spain in March 2011. Bert Koh was affected because of the holiday that occurred in March 2011, that was why the holiday could be postponed or cancelled. Typhoon Hagibis Typhoon Hagibis ( , ) was a large and powerful tropical cyclone that was considered to be the most devastating typhoon to hit the Kantō region of Japan since Ida in 1958. Hagibis caused additional impacts to Japan, after Faxai struck the same region one month prior. The nineteenth named storm and the ninth typhoon of the 2019 Pacific typhoon season, Hagibis developed from a tropical wave located a couple hundred miles north of the Marshall Islands on 2 October. The system reached tropical storm status late on 5 October as it travelled westward. Soon afterwards, Hagibis underwent a period of rapid intensification, which brought Hagibis to its peak intensity on 7 October. After maintaining the peak intensity for about three days, Hagibis began to weaken due to less favorable environment. On 12 October, Hagibis made landfall at Izu Peninsula as a Category 2–equivalent typhoon. Hagibis became extratropical on the following day. Still recovering from the impacts of Faxai, Hagibis caused widespread damage across Japan, particularly in the Kantō region. , at least 95 people have been confirmed dead and 7 others went missing in Japan. Early on 12 October, Hagibis triggered a tornado in Ichihara City. About half an hour before Hagibis made landfall, a magnitude 5.7 earthquake occurred off the coast of Chiba Prefecture, worsening the dangerous condition even more. In early October, a poorly-organized and broad area of storms persisted over east of Guam. With favorable atmospheric conditions and warm sea surface temperatures prevailing, the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC) began noting the possibility of tropical cyclogenesis on 4 October, eventually issuing a tropical cyclone formation alert the next day. The system initially remained stationary, consolidating a center of circulation in the lower levels of the atmosphere. The Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA) declared the disturbance a tropical depression at 00:00 UTC on 5 October. At the time, the system was northeast of Pohnpei, quickly developing cumulonimbus clouds around its center and establishing conducive outflow as it tracked west around the periphery of an area of high pressure. The tropical depression strengthened into a tropical storm by 18:00 UTC on 5 October while east of Guam, gaining the name Hagibis. A dominant curved rainband had begun to wrap around the center of Hagibis, signifying further organization. On 6 October, the storm made a slight turn towards the west-southwest and began an accelerated period of intensification within low wind shear and atop warm waters, reaching severe tropical storm intensity at 12:00 UTC and typhoon strength six hours later as it developed a small eye. Typhoon Hagibis entered a period of explosive intensification on 7 October, with its central pressure falling 55 mbar (hPa; 1.62 inHg) in 12 hours according to the JMA. Estimates from the JTWC suggested a -increase in the storm's maximum winds in 24 hours. During this phase, Hagibis maintained a pinhole eye across, encircled by a highly compact and sharply-defined eyewall. The rate of intensification was among the fastest observed in the Western Pacific. According to the JMA, Hagibis reached its peak intensity at 09:00 UTC on 7 October with a minimum pressure of 915 mbar (hPa; 27.02 inHg) and 10-minute sustained winds of 195 km/h (120 mph); Hagibis would maintain this intensity for 72 hours. The JTWC classified Hagibis as a super typhoon early on 7 October, and later assessed peak 1-minute sustained winds of as Hagibis passed just south of Anatahan in the Northern Mariana Islands. Hagibis was unusually rapid in its trek through the Mariana Islands, traveling with a forward motion of . After passing the Mariana Islands, Hagibis began an eyewall replacement cycle, which caused the rapid intensification phase to end. As the primary eyewall began to erode, the JTWC downgraded the system slightly to a high-end Category 4 system at 00:00 UTC on 8 October. Several hours later, Hagibis re-intensified into a Category 5 equivalent system upon completing the eyewall replacement cycle. Hagibis began to weaken on 10 October, as sea surface temperatures decreased and wind shear increased. Mild strengthening was forecast shortly after Hagibis downgraded to a Category 3 typhoon, but that failed to occur as it neared land and its outer rainbands began to erode. After gradual weakening, Hagibis made landfall on Shizuoka as a Category 2 equivalent system, with 1-minute sustained winds of at around 08:30 UTC on 12 October. While over Japan, Hagibis became disorganized from high wind shear and eventually became extratropical on 13 October. Forecasts across eastern, western, and northern Japan called for strong winds and torrential rain that would likely cause flooding and mudslides. JR Group, Japan Airlines, and All Nippon Airways suspended services. JMA weather forecaster, Yasushi Kajiwara, said, "It is a level 5 situation; some sort of disaster may have already taken place. People are strongly advised to act to protect their lives right away." Evacuation orders have been issued to more than 800,000 households across 11 prefectures. Over 230,000 people took the advice to head to evacuation shelters. The typhoon had effects on several major sporting events occurring in Japan. Three matches of the 2019 Rugby World Cup were cancelled due to Hagibis, including the Pool B matches between New Zealand and Italy, and Canada and Namibia, and the Pool C match between England and France. This marked the first time that matches have been cancelled in the history of the Rugby World Cup. All cancelled matches were counted as draws: the cancelled fixture effectively eliminated Italy from the tournament, as they had a chance to potentially qualify for the knockout stage with a sufficient margin of victory against New Zealand. On 11 October, it was announced that the Saturday practice session for the 2019 Japanese Grand Prix at Suzuka Circuit would be cancelled, and the Saturday qualifying session postponed to Sunday morning prior to the race. The F4 Japanese Championship cancelled its round at the circuit as well. Despite the games being played indoors in domed stadiums, Nippon Professional Baseball postponed both Game 4 Climax Series games in the 2019 Pacific League Climax Series and the 2019 Central League Climax Series. Both games were planned to take place on Saturday, October 12, one in Tokorozawa, Saitama, the other in Bunkyō, Tokyo. The games were instead played the next day on Sunday, October 13. Early on 12 October, a tornado struck Ichihara City, which killed one person and left two people injured. In the afternoon, some areas of Japan suffered heavy flooding, with tens of thousands of homes lacking power. The Japan Meteorological Agency warned that high winds could cause further flooding and landslides. The agency issued evacuation advisories in high-risk areas. Over of rain fell in parts of Japan. Japan's Fire and Disaster Management Agency stated that at least 95 people have been confirmed dead, 7 people are missing, with 346 people injured by the storm. More than 270,000 households have lost power across the country. Ten trains of the Hokuriku Shinkansen Line in Nagano City were inundated by flood waters, leading to a loss of ¥32.8 billion (US$300 million). Insured losses throughout the country are estimated as greater than US$9 billion. At around 6:22 p.m. JST on 12 October, a magnitude 5.7 earthquake occurred off the coast of Chiba Prefecture, worsening the dangerous conditions already created by Hagibis. Hagibis also led to the cancellation of several sporting events, such as qualifying for the and three world cup rugby matches. Our Holiday in 2019 Timothy Mok had stayed at Hotel Sunroute Plaza Shinjuku from 16 to 20 October and Henn na Hotel from 21 to 24 October, located at Nishikasai. The plane, Singapore Airlines also flew to Haneda Airport from Singapore on 16th and returning on the 24th. Japanese conversion to English translation is required for a shuttle bus that goes to the hotel from Disneyland and DisneySea. At Takashimaya Times Square on 16 October 2019, Timothy Mok went to Tempura Kobikicho Tenkuni and ate, but also had went to various places (Uniqlo, Don Don Donki, Books Kinokuniya, Lumine the Yoshimoto and Tokyu Hands). Major areas also concentrated are Isetan Shinjuku, Lumine the Yoshimoto, Animate Shinjuku, Odakyu Department Store, Shinjuku Omoide Yokocho and Shinjuku Golden Gai. On 17 October 2019, Timothy Mok had purchased Suica, which had went eventually until it ran out and have two cards for preservation. Then, we had went to - Asakusa, followed by Ueno and ate Ippudo Ueno there. On 18 October 2019, Timothy Mok had went to Ikebukuro Station, Sunshine City, Ameyoko and Okachimachi Station, but came back to Takashimaya Times Square to eat Tendon Tenya (one of the sushi joint). For the Ikebukuro area, we also went to eat western food which is similar to iSTEAKS, Buddy Hoagies and Saizeriya. On 19 October 2019, Timothy Mok had went to Harajuku Station, Meiji Shrine Kaguraden, Yoyogi Park, Takeshita Street, the busy Orchard Road of them, together with the MOS Burger at Omote-Sando (for lunch), which also includes that in Singapore, Onitsuka Tiger Omotesando, KIDDY LAND, Omote-Sando Station. It also has Charles & Keith at Harajuku. Then, had went to Shibuya (Shibuya Station, Shibuya Crossing, Adidas Brand Core Store Shibuya, Shibuya 109, Shibuya Parco, Han No Daidokoro). On the 22 and 23 October 2019, Timothy Mok also went to Maihama Station, where the meeting point for Tokyo DisneySea (7th day) and Tokyo Disneyland (8th day) are located. On 24 October 2019, Timothy Mok had only went to Don Don Donki at Kasai before going to Haneda Airport. The extras are - Ginza Station, Ginza Six, Matsuya Ginza, Roppongi Station, Ippudo Roppongi, Tokyo Midtown, Roppongi Hills, Sugamo Station, Nakano Broadway and Toyosu Market. Tokyo Skytree Tokyo Skytree '''is a broadcasting and observation tower in Sumida, Tokyo, Japan. It became the tallest structure in Japan in 2010Tokyo Sky Tree beats Tokyo Tower, now tallest building in Japan, The Mainichi Daily News, 29 March 2010 and reached its full height of in March 2011, making it the tallest tower in the world, displacing the Canton Tower, and the second tallest structure in the world after the Burj Khalifa (829.8 m/2,722 ft). The tower is the primary television and radio broadcast site for the Kantō region; the older Tokyo Tower no longer gives complete digital terrestrial television broadcasting coverage because it is surrounded by high-rise buildings. Skytree was completed on Leap Day, 29 February 2012, with the tower opening to the public on 22 May 2012. The tower is the centrepiece of a large commercial development funded by the Tobu Railway (which owns the complex) and a group of six terrestrial broadcasters headed by NHK. Trains stop at the adjacent Tokyo Skytree Station and nearby Oshiage Station. The complex is north-east of Tokyo Station. The tower topped the 600 m (1,969 ft) mark and reached a height of 604 m (1,982 ft), surpassing Canton Tower (596 m (1,955 ft)) and becoming the world's tallest tower on 1 March 2011, before reaching the height of 625 m due to the earthquake. Construction began on 14 July 2008. Sky City 1000 Sky City 1000 is a hypothetical architectural project envisioned to be built in the Tokyo metropolitan area. It was announced in 1989 at the height of the Japanese asset price bubble. The plan consists of a building 1,000 m (3,281 ft) tall and 400 m (1,312 ft) wide at the base, with a total floor area of 8 km2 (3.1 sq mi). The design, proposed in 1989 by the Takenaka Corporation, would house between 35,000 and 36,000 full-time residents, as well as 100,000 workers. It comprises 14 concave dish-shaped "Space Plateaus" stacked one upon the other. The interior of the plateaus would contain greenspace, and on the edges, on the sides of the building, would be the apartments. Also included in the building would be offices, commercial facilities, schools, theatres, and other modern amenities. Although this project has gained more serious attention than many of the alternatives, it can be considered similar to projects such as X-Seed 4000 and to ultra-high density, mixed use concepts such as Paolo Soleri's Arcology and Le Corbusier's Ville Radieuse. If completed, Sky City 1000 will be the tallest man-made structure in the world, edging out the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. However, Jeddah Tower (which will be completed in 2021) will be taller. The building has been scaled down from its initial one mile high (5,280 ft) proposal, which was never fully designed, to a height of at least 1,000 metres (3,281 ft) (the exact height is being kept private while in development, similar to the Burj Khalifa). Food Japanese cuisine has been known to the regional and traditional food. It is also exported to Singapore and it became increasingly popular. Common food that we have include: *Miso soup *Soba *Ramen (Japanese noodles) *Sushi *Sashimi *Wazen *Chawanmushi *Japanese beef rice *Japanese curry rice Japanese ocha (green tea) is served to most Japanese dishes. It is like lush green for buses. There is also sake in Japan, which is containing 15% to 17% of the alcohol, and is made by multiple fermentation of rice. Beer manufacturers such as Asahi, Sapporo Beer and Kirin Company are also popular in Japan for those who are drinking beer. Hamburger chains include Freshness Burger and MOS Burger were also present. These were exported to Singapore for some time. Wazen *Nihonbashi Wazen Ilda Soba Ramen Sushi/Sashimi Transport Suica Japan has been home to Suica cards for Shinkansen and rail usage, and together with the Pasmo cards, offers ticketing systems for Tokyo Metro. Shinkansen Shibuya Station Ikebukuro Ikebukuro will also have Sunshine City and Pokemon area. Airport There are two airports in Tokyo - Narita and Haneda International Airport. Singapore Airlines flies towards Tokyo, together with All Nippon Airways and Japan Airlines, using Boeing 777-300ER and Airbus A350-900. Haneda was the primary airport until 1978, when Narita took another primary airport in Tokyo. From 1978 to 2010, Haneda handled all the domestic flights to and from Tokyo whereas there are scheduled charter flights to major cities in East Asia, while Narita had handled various international flights. Previously, when Daisy Ang also had went to Tokyo in 2008, with Jeremy Mok, the flights were in Narita Airport. The terminals that are using Haneda Airport is Japan Airlines (Terminal 1) and All Nippon Airways (Terminal 2). Haneda Airport A third terminal at Haneda Airport was being built in October 2010. Many long-haul flights were struggled, with British Airways services also added at Haneda Airport in October 2010, followed by Singapore Airlines on October 2016 using Boeing 777-200 and 300ER aircraft. The departure hall and arrival hall are segregated together in two levels (Departing and Arriving) and passengers are not allowed to bring prohibited items into the sterile area for security reasons in Haneda Airport International Terminal. Duty free can be purchased from TIAT Duty Free (Tokyo International Airport Duty Free), similar to Taipei's Everrich Duty Free. There are also some shops that can be purchased duty-free, which is for the 2020 Summer Olympics. Haneda Airport is served by the Keikyu and Tokyo Monorail. The monorail has two dedicated stations (Haneda Airport Terminal 1 Station and Haneda Airport Terminal 2 Station), Keikyū operates a single station between the domestic terminals (Haneda Airport Domestic Terminal Station), and both lines stop at the International Terminal Station. Keikyū offers trains to Shinagawa Station and Yokohama Station and through service to the Toei Asakusa Line, which makes several stops in eastern Tokyo. Some Keikyū trains also run through to the Keisei Oshiage Line and Keisei Main Line, making it possible to reach Narita International Airport by train. Airport Limited Express trains make the nonstop run from Haneda Airport to Shinagawa in 11 minutes. Kami-Shirataki Station The remote Kami-Shirataki station has been kept open until she graduates, which is the only one high school girl who travels through the station. The Japan railway JR wanted to close down the station but changed its mind when they discovered the girl used to go to the school. She is expected to graduate on March 26, which is when the station is expected to close. A Taiwan Apple Daily report said that the girl featured in the story does take the train every day, but the year-three student takes it from Kyu-Shirataki Station, instead of the Kami-Shirataki Station, along with more than 10 schoolmates at 7.15am. That is the only train in the morning. Japan Railway will close three stations - Kami-Shirataki, Kyu-Shirataki and Shimo-Shirataki by March 2016. This may not have done anything to the graduation. Hayao Miyazaki is a co-founder of Studio Ghibli known for the films as Spiritual Away and My Neighbour Totoro. Politics Emperor of Japan *Akihito (1989 - 2019) *Naruhito (2019 - present) Prime Minister *Shinzo Abe (2006 - 2007) *Yasuo Fukuda (2007 - 2008) *Taro Aso (2008 - 2009) *Yukio Hatoyama (2009 - 2010) *Naoto Kan (2010 - 2011) *Yoshihiko Noda (2011 - 2012) *Shinzo Abe (2012 - present) Employment Japan has been home to various companies such as Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Kinki Sharyo, Nippon Sharyo and Tokyu Car Corporation, including Hitachi for the railways. Other companies that were involved are: Sumitomo Corporation, Best Denki, JCB, MSIG Insurance and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. Air-con brands such as Sanyo and Mitsubishi Electric are also around, together with Mizuho and Fuji Electric. Other brands such as Sony, Fujitsu, Canon, Nintendo, Panasonic, Toshiba, Toyota, Honda, Suzuki and Nissan are famous. Together with that, shopping mall brand Takashimaya usually comes from here, which also goes towards Singapore. Apple has opened various stores at Japan: *Marunouchi (Tokyo) *Ginza (Tokyo) *Omotesando (Tokyo) *Shinjuku (Tokyo) *Shibuya (Tokyo) Odakyu Group '''Odakyu Group is a Japanese company in Shinjuku, Tokyo. It showcases several things such as Odakyu Department Store, Hakone Ropeway, Hakone Sightseeing Cruise and Odakyu Travel. Takashimaya Takashimaya Company, Limited (株式会社髙島屋 Kabushiki-gaisha Takashimaya) is a Japanese company that operates a department store chain carrying a wide array of products, ranging from wedding dresses and other apparel to electronics and flatware. Since 1992, Takashimaya had opened one outlet at Ngee Ann City in Orchard Road. 10 years later, DBS had collaborated with Takashimaya for the credit cards. It became one of the partners for the IKEA credit card payment in furniture. The Japanese department store industry went through a wave of consolidation during a revenue slump in the 2000s, with Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings (parent of Mitsukoshi and Isetan) becoming the largest player in the industry. Education Primary schools, secondary schools and universities were introduced in 1872 as a result of the Meiji Restoration. In Japan, small children run errands and travel alone. A popular television show called Hajimete no Otsukai, or My First Errand, features children as young as two or three being sent out to do a task for their family. As they tentatively make their way to the greengrocer or bakery, their progress is secretly filmed by a camera crew. The show has been running for more than 20 years. Telecommunications The nation of Japan currently possesses one of the most advanced communication networks in the world. There are five nationwide mobile phone service providers: NTT DoCoMo, KDDI, SoftBank Mobile, EMOBILE and Willcom. Festivals There are many festivals in Japan, which are called in Japanese matsuri (祭) which are celebrated annually. There are no specific festival days for all of Japan; dates vary from area to area, and even within a specific area, but festival days do tend to cluster around traditional holidays such as Setsubun or Obon. Festivals are often based around one event, with food stalls, entertainment, and carnival games to keep people entertained. Its usually sponsored by a local shrine or temple, though they can be secular. Video gaming Video gaming in Japan is a major industry. Japan became a major exporter of video games during the golden age of arcade video games, an era that began with the release of Taito's Space Invaders in 1978 and ended around the mid-1980s. Japan became the most dominant country within the global video game industry, since the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System and the third generation of consoles. Japan's dominance within the industry would continue for the next two decades, until Microsoft's Xbox consoles began challenging Sony and Nintendo in the 2000s. In the Japanese gaming industry, arcades have remained popular through to the present day. As of 2009, out of Japan's $20 billion gaming market, $6 billion of that amount is generated from arcades, which represent the largest sector of the Japanese video game market, followed by home console games and mobile games at $3.5 billion and $2 billion, respectively. In the present day, Japan is the world's largest market for mobile games. The country's traditional console gaming market itself is today largely dominated by handheld game consoles rather than home consoles. In 2014, Japan's consumer video game market grossed $9.6 billion, with $5.8 billion coming from mobile gaming. Media Television and newspapers take an important role in Japanese mass media, though radio and magazines also take a part. For a long time, newspapers were regarded as the most influential information medium in Japan, although audience attitudes towards television changed with the emergence of commercial news broadcasting in the mid-1980s. Over the last decade, television has clearly come to surpass newspapers as Japan's main information and entertainment medium. There are six nationwide television broadcast networks: NHK, Nippon Television and TV Asahi. For the most part, television networks were established based on capital investments by existing radio networks. Variety shows, serial dramas, and news constitute a large percentage of Japanese television shows. According to the 2015 NHK survey on television viewing in Japan, 79 percent of Japanese watch television every day. The average daily duration of television viewing was three hours.